Ken Livingstone ousted from defence review in a 'Trident two-step'

Labour said on Friday that Mr Livingstone, the ex-London mayor, will have no
formal role in Labour's review of its defence policy

Ken LivingstonePhoto: PA

By Christopher Hope,, Laura Hughes and Ben Riley-Smith

6:45PM GMT 15 Jan 2016

Ken Livingstone has been pushed out of Labour’s Trident review in a series of choreographed announcements by the Labour leadership and unions which was dubbed the “Trident two-step”.

Labour announced on Friday that Mr Livingstone, the ex-London mayor, will have no formal role in Labour's review of its defence policy which is expected to recommend a switch in policy away from the current position of support for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent.

That was followed minutes later by announcements from both Unite and the GMB union, two major union donors which oppose scrapping Trident because of jobs fears, welcoming the news.

Emily Thornberry Photo: Yui Mok/PA

One senior source said the Mr Corbyn came to the decision following a face to face meeting with Unite officials earlier this week, adding: “It’s the Trident two step.”

Unite leader Len McCluskey said: “This announcement also sends a clear signal to Labour MPs and members that Jeremy Corbyn is determined this review will result in a policy that will equip the country for the modern-day defence challenges."

Sir Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB union, added the GMB was not going to “surrender responsibility for defending members jobs” linked to the Trident programme.

He said: “It is not helpful for the confidence of the people affected if senior politicians who claim to have major influence over the outcome make announcements what their position is.”

Sources said Mr Corbyn’s team took the decision to move Mr Livingstone after becoming alarmed at some of his statements, notably that the UK should consider leaving Nato.

The source said: “The bottom line is that Ken became the story and it was not feasible for it to work any more. Ken had become the issue.”

There was also a feeling that the need to have Mr Livingstone on the review was no longer as strong now that the pro-Trident defence secretary Maria Eagle had been replaced by the Trident sceptic Emily Thornberry.

Ms Thornberry said she aimed to produce an interim report by June for consideration by the party's national policy forum and annual conference.

"I am extremely sceptical about Trident and I will not be afraid to ask some very difficult questions"

Emily Thornberry, the shadow defence secretary

Ms Thornberry said she was “extremely sceptical” about Trident and would ask some “very difficult questions” about its future.

Ms Thornberry said: “This is going to be a wide-ranging review. We are going to look at all aspects of defence policy, and clearly Trident is part of that.

“My views are on the record: I am extremely sceptical about Trident and I will not be afraid to ask some very difficult questions and I need to hear the evidence about it and I will then come to a view. I go into this wanting to look at the evidence before we make policy.”

Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley/The Telegraph

Mr Livingstone will not write the review but it remains possible that he could have some influence over how the conclusions are implemented at a later date.

He appeared to suggest as recently as Wednesday that he expected to be working on the review, saying he hoped the recommendation on Trident could be rushed through within 8-10 weeks, which would be “a lot of work for me and Emily”.

However he toldChannel 4 News that he had decided to stand down after a 90 minute pub lunch on Friday last week when he realised he and Ms Thornberry agreed on policy.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, speaks at the TUC conference in Brighton Photo: GETTY

Mr Livingstone said: “At the end of an hour and a half I just said, ‘Look, you and I agree on absolutely everything. I think you should lead on this. "

Earlier former Labour defence minister, Lord West, said he would quit the party if it decided not to support Trident, telling Daily Politics the “British public believe in the deterrent” and a policy of unilateralism would be “disastrous”.